Ready to buy...but how many

[Hasseness]

Since June I've been setting up a 55 grow out and a 135 show tank for discus. I'm finally ready to buy. I was wondering...Can I buy 8 juvies to start out in the 55. When 4 of them reach 4.5 inches can I put them in the 135 and keep growing out the remaining 4 in the 55?

I would love some opinions on this please.

[Crstfr]

i'd say yes.. i'm going to work with 4-5 in my 72bow .. its now just coming up with the coin to get them~.. i've seen them from 24.99 all the way to 169.99... . but on avg they run about 40~..

good luck...

[DiscusOnly]

I don't see any problem in putting 8 in a 55gal if you keep up with a WC. If it was me, I would rather grow get all 8 close to 5" and move all of them to a 135. I am learning that breaking up/moving larger adult discus is a bit harder than the juvie. I find larger discus takes longer to settle if you move them.

[AADiscus]

You shouldn't have a problem with growing them out in a 55 but like already mentioned, keep up with your wc's.

[Hasseness]

Thank you all for your replys! That makes me happy that I can order 8 instead of 6. I promise to keep up with my water changes and keep them all together until they are 5 inches :)

[Elite Aquaria]

I agree...8 will be fine just keep up with your WC and make sure you have good filtration. The key is not the number of WC you do but the water quality that you maintain. This is affected by filtration, Food and WC...Good luck

[Crstfr]

I agree...8 will be fine just keep up with your WC and make sure you have good filtration. The key is not the number of WC you do but the water quality that you maintain. This is affected by filtration, Food and WC...Good luck


"The key is not the number of WC you do but the water quality that you maintain."

Well put~. i'm new to this forum but not new to tanks, and i see people doing water changes every day..50%, ... etc... grrr.. I do a 20% once a week... .. 50% a day.. damn that's alot of time!. even with a full tank of fish it was still only on the weekend~.. my tap is 8.5, .. the tank.. 6.5 with a temp of about 82-83 .... no love for WC's~

[Ryan]

I raised 10 discus to 4 - 4.5" in a 55 gallon. All I used were sponge filters and 90% daily w/c. Once the fish were in the 4 - 4.5" range, I sent five to Al and raised the remaining five in the 55. I don't know how big Al's ended up, but I eventually sent my remaining fish to Andrew and Angela. They were all in the 6" - 6.5" range. Some of the males (and a female, too) got very thick and bulky.

I think the key is good, clean water and quality foods. Mine had bloodworms, ONF1 pellets and flakes, mysis shrimp, beefheart (not too often, but occasionally), and sometimes snacks like brine shrimp or catfish chips/wafers (mine loved them for some reason).

Keep in mind that in a group of eight, you may end up six really good ones. Most of the time in a group of discus you'll have a runt or those that end up on the small side.

Enjoy your new fish. :)

Ryan

[DiscusOnly]

Well put~. i'm new to this forum but not new to tanks, and i see people doing water changes every day..50%, ... etc... grrr.. I do a 20% once a week... .. 50% a day.. damn that's alot of time!. even with a full tank of fish it was still only on the weekend~.. my tap is 8.5, .. the tank.. 6.5 with a temp of about 82-83 .... no love for WC's~


You may be able to get a way with that if you are not feeding your discus 5-6 times a day. 20% will not be enough if you have 6-8 growing discus that eat and poops like a baby. A full tank of fish is not the same as full tank of discus.

WC becomes a routine. You just have to figure out the most efficient way in doing it.

[Crstfr]

yah i don't feed mine nearly that much. i even go a day or two without feeding. i plan to grow 5 in a 72gal... i'll play it by ear.. i'll adapt to them, and what they require, right now, i'll keep blowing and going on my current setup and routine, hopefully they will adapt to my way of doing thing!! hehe

[Apistomaster]

I would take a slightly different approach with 8 discus in a 55 gal.
Assuming two 50% water changes a week, I would reduce the number to no more than 6 once they are 4 inches in diameter.
The general rule of 10 gallons per Discus is a very good one.
Keeping 8 in a 55 gal until they are 5 inches will increase the chances of one or two falling behind for the reasons Ryan described in his response.